Social media, once written off as a fad, is now a big component of our lives. We use it to communicate with co-workers and friends — even to obtain new jobs.

And in the past four years it has become a crucial element to landing the highest job in the land.

Social media — web-based communication networks that generate dialogue and interactivity among individuals and organizations — are used more than ever. In the 2012 election year, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube might pave the road to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Romney’s Michigan director says the chain of social media command goes all the way to campaign headquarters in Boston.

“In Michigan we have a digital staffer who works with our digital team in Boston every day to complement our national efforts with Michigan-specific posts, sign-ups, photos, etc.,” Fitzpatrick said.

Matt McGrath, the Michigan press secretary for the Obama/Biden campaign, says a lot has changed in regard to social media since President Barack Obama ran for office four years ago.

“This time around we’re not only using existing social media channels to reach out to voters but we’re also integrating more closely with our field department to create online tools that can make our organizing more effective on the ground,” McGrath said. “There are more dedicated digital staffers on the ground in our battleground states that localize the digital program.”

McGrath said the Obama campaign has targeted strategies to reach voting demographics through social media platforms.

“Our Operation Vote constituency program also has a heavy digital component, allowing a user to sign up for the issue group they care about,” such as women, Latinos, LGBT or environmentalists, “and receive specific emails that motivate them” in those areas.

“We have seen a steady increase in the amount of voters who have sought more information and joined our social media channels,” Moffatt said.

“Michigan voters who create a MyMitt account are also the ones who are most likely to volunteer. Since May 1, we have had over 19 million visits to mittromney.com. Many of those visits have been driven by over 7.3 million Facebook likes, 1.1 million Twitter followers and more than 22.5 million YouTube views.”

Moffatt said the Romney campaign customizes its social media presence to specific regions of the state.

“The digital team in Michigan utilizes Facebook’s geo-location services to tailor Gov. Romney’s message to specific cities, counties and the state as a whole,” Moffatt said.

“Using this tool we can promote an event with a surrogate in Waterford, specifically to those citizens, while promoting a door-knocking drive to residents in Holland on the west side of the state. We also utilize SMS services specifically targeted to certain parts of Michigan, depending on the micro-targeted message.”

Terri Towner, an assistant professor of political science at Oakland University, says many studies have examined the efficacy of Facebook and Twitter since the Obama campaign began using social media in 2008.

“Much of this research shows that presidential candidates use social media to raise campaign funds as well as target, organize and mobilize voters,” Towner said.

Obama used social media more effectively in the 2008 campaign than John McCain, she said.

“For instance, Obama posted more YouTube videos and garnered more video views than McCain. Regarding Twitter, a fairly new tool in 2008, Obama also tweeted more frequently and had more followers than McCain.”

Your mileage may vary

Towner says the results are inconclusive.

“Interestingly, the research on the effects of social media is rather mixed,” she said. “For example, some scholars find that attention to social media boosts political participation whereas others find that social media sites have no influence on voter turnout.

“In addition, some researchers show that citizens who obtain news and information from social networks learn very little about politics and candidates. However, other studies show that political information transmitted through social networks increases political knowledge.”

In a June 4-17 study regarding the 2012 election done by the Pew Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism showed “the Obama campaign posted nearly four times as much content as the Romney campaign and was active on nearly twice as many platforms.” It showed “Obama’s digital content also engendered more response from the public — twice the number of shares, views and comments of his posts.”

In 2008, Towner and her colleagues conducted their own study, and this year they plan to do the same.

“We fielded a survey of college students and conducted an experiment,” she said. “Our findings were published as a book chapter and as research articles in the Journal of Political Marketing and New Media & Society.

“During the 2012 general election, we are conducting a panel survey of Oakland University students. We seek to examine how social media usage is influencing young adults’ political attitudes, particularly political participation, knowledge and efficacy as well as candidate evaluations.” The survey will show how attitudes change during three months of campaigning, she said.

Finding the audience

Towner said the campaigns must target different voters on specific social media networks.

“Campaigns need to know their audience,” she said. “It’s not about traffic on social networking sites, it’s about demographics. Who’s using Facebook? Who’s spending the most time on Twitter? For instance, more men use Google+ than women. More women actively use Facebook than men. More women use Pinterest. Twitter is 50/50 when it comes to gender. Campaigns can tailor their messages to each type of user on their choice social network.

“What’s important here is that candidates can use social media to reach voters that they may be unable to reach with traditional media.”

Towner noted the studies focus on national elections only.

“Usage and the effects of social media among state and local level candidates has been largely ignored,” she said. “That is, does (Pete) Hoekstra and (Debbie) Stabenow’s usage of Facebook, Twitter and websites influence their campaign for U.S. Senate?”

Towner predicts it will be all-out war on Facebook and Twitter until election day.

“The presidential candidates are in a social media war,” she said. “More people are turning to social media for news and information. Both older and younger people are now using social media for political information. Recent surveys also report that a majority of the American public expect political candidates to use social media in campaigning.”

Traditional media still in the running

When it comes to getting the campaign message across, Towner said traditional media still does the job best.

“It’s important to note that television is still king in campaigning,” Towner said. “As a result, candidates rely heavily on televised stump speeches, television campaign ads, conventions and televised debates to reach voters.

“There are drawbacks to using social media in campaigning. Candidates fear losing control of their message and image, as Web 2.0 tools open the door to unfiltered, user-generated content. Also, candidates simply may not know how to use social media tools for two-way communication.”